Torben GRAEL and his all-star crew on Ericsson 4 have extended their advantage on the Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard after winning the race to the leg two scoring gate.

Ericsson Racing Team made it a one/two this morning when Torben GRAEL (BRA) and his team racing Ericsson 4 cruised through the scoring gate on leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race at 03:40 UTC, adding another four points to their tally, bringing their total to 18. On their heels was Anders LEWANDER (SWE) and his Nordic team racing Ericsson 3, crossing at 06:51 and swiping another 3.5 points. They now have 8.5 points overall.

The wounded Green Dragon is still going in strong, although with one wing clipped when she broke her boom two days ago. She crossed at 08:40 UTC, scoring three points (total now 14 points).

"We are thrilled to get third place and three points at the scoring gate," said Green Dragon's skipper, Ian WALKER (GBR) this morning. "This has been our focus since breaking the boom two days ago. We seem to be able to sail downwind with spinnakers quite well, and, even now, reaching with one reef seems OK. It is the upwind sailing that we must hope to avoid," he said. The team hopes to start repairs on the boom once the temperature rises further so that the glue and resin they have onboard will cure. "I'm not wildly optimistic, but I think the lads are looking forward to the challenge," says WALKER. "I just have to stop them cutting the boat up in the process," he laughed.

A good showing from the Russians on Kosatka who crossed just under an hour after Green Dragon at 09:36 UTC, meant that a much-needed 2.5 points were added to their tally, bringing their overall score up to 6.5. Skipper Andreas HANAKAMP (AUT) and his team were very happy with their 2.5 points. The boat is as solid as the day is long, although HANAKAMP says there is a certain luck factor involved with not breaking anything. "During the leaps we did in the bigger waves there were no scary noises from the structure of the boat, just the big bangs when you slam onto the water in 30 knots, which is scary and deafening in itself."

The last boat to cross was Delta Lloyd (Roberto BERMUDEZ/ESP) at 13:21 UTC, scoring 0.5 points - total now 4.5 points.

The wind has eased into the high teens and now the race focus shifts towards the finish in Cochin, India as the fleet points its bows north.

Tactics for the second half of leg two will be influenced by high pressure, which has been building slowly to the south of Madagascar since Tuesday, and which the fleet must skirt. HANAKAMP says, "Having the right wind speed and angle is critical, even though the fleet will be compressed later on. This could well change, and, at the end, you want to come out of the compression as much ahead as possible."

So, no holding back now, it is foot to the floor for the fleet. The position of the high will make for at least 12 hours of light winds along the rhumb-line course between the boats' current positions and Cochin, but then the teams can look forward to a few days of trade wind sailing.

Moods have improved as the air temperature gets hotter and the boats begin to dry out. The Southern Ocean is officially left behind, until it makes its reappearance in leg five from Qingdao in China to Rio de Janeiro, which takes the fleet around the infamous Cape Horn.

Tom Burton (AUS) and Alison Young (GBR) hit the right note in the Laser and Laser Radial at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as they took out the top honours and qualification spots to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final.

It was double Australian gold in the Paralympic classes. Matt Bugg (AUS) came out on top in the 2.4mR whilst London 2012 Paralympic SKUD18 gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) were triumphant in the two person keelboat.

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

There was some fast paced action in the 49er and 49erFX Medal Races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen (AUS) and Maia & Ragna Agerup (NOR) claimed the honours and Abu Dhabi final spots.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.

Melbourne, Australia will host the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification regatta in 2015. With just under one year until the event, the 2015 IFDS Worlds was launched at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.

Shawn Bennett (USA) won the Long Beach Stop of the 2015 California Dreamin' Series Sunday in this International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 3 match racing regatta hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club and raced on the Long Beach Sailing Foundation's fleet of Catalina 37s.

After the limits of the southern oceans imposed by the combination of the weather systems and the safety barrier of the Antarctic Exclusion Zone, the Atlantic is opening up for the top trio of the Barcelona World Race.